The InfluxDB API provides a simple way interact with the database. It uses HTTP response codes, HTTP authentication, JWT Tokens, and basic authentication, and responses are returned in JSON.

The following sections assume your InfluxDB instance is running on localhost port 8086 and HTTPS is not enabled. Those settings are configurable.

Endpoints

/ping

The ping endpoint accepts both GET and HEAD HTTP requests. Use this endpoint to check the status of your InfluxDB instance and your version of InfluxDB.

Definition

GET http://localhost:8086/ping

HEAD http://localhost:8086/ping

Example

Extract the version of your InfluxDB instance in the X-Influxdb-Version field of the header:

$ curl -sl -I localhost:8086/ping

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:09:52 GMT

Status Codes and Responses

The response body is empty.

/query

The /query endpoint accepts GET and POST HTTP requests. Use this endpoint to query data and manage databases, retention policies, and users.

Definition

GET http://localhost:8086/query

POST http://localhost:8086/query

Verb usage

* The only exceptions are SELECT queries that include an INTO clause. Those SELECT queries require a POST request.

Examples

Example 1: Query data with a SELECT statement

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[["2017-03-01T00:16:18Z",33.1,null,null],["2017-03-01T00:17:18Z",12.4,"12","14"]]}]}]}

The mymeas measurement has two points. The first point has the timestamp 2017-03-01T00:16:18Z, a myfield value of 33.1, and no tag values for the mytag1 and mytag2 tag keys. The second point has the timestamp 2017-03-01T00:17:18Z, a myfield value of 12.4, a mytag1 value of 12, and a mytag2 value of 14.

The same query in InfluxDB’s Command Line Interface (CLI) returns the following table:

name: mymeas
time                  myfield  mytag1  mytag2
----                  -------  ------  ------
2017-03-01T00:16:18Z  33.1
2017-03-01T00:17:18Z  12.4     12      14

Example 2: Query data with a SELECT statement and an INTO clause

$ curl -XPOST 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * INTO "newmeas" FROM "mymeas"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"result","columns":["time","written"],"values":[["1970-01-01T00:00:00Z",2]]}]}]}

SELECT queries that include and INTO clause require a POST request.

The response shows that InfluxDB writes two points to the newmeas measurement. Note that the system uses epoch 0 (1970-01-01T00:00:00Z) as a null timestamp equivalent.

Example 3: Create a database

$ curl -XPOST 'http://localhost:8086/query' --data-urlencode 'q=CREATE DATABASE "mydb"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0}]}

A successful CREATE DATABASE query returns no additional information.

Query String Parameters

* In versions 1.2.0 and 1.2.1, InfluxDB automatically truncates the number of rows returned for requests without the chunked parameter. By default, the maximum number of rows returned is set to 10,000. If a query has more than 10,000 rows to return, InfluxDB includes a "partial":true tag in the response body. The max-row-limit setting is configurable in the [http] section of the configuration file. In version 1.2.2, the max-row-limit configuration option is set to 0 by default. That default setting allows for an unlimited number of rows returned per request.

** The HTTP API also supports basic authentication. Use basic authentication if you’ve enabled authentication and aren’t using the query string parameters u and p. See below for an example of basic authentication.

Examples

Example 1: Query data with a SELECT statement and return pretty-printed JSON

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb&pretty=true' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas"'

{
    "results": [
        {
            "statement_id": 0,
            "series": [
                {
                    "name": "mymeas",
                    "columns": [
                        "time",
                        "myfield",
                        "mytag1",
                        "mytag2"
                    ],
                    "values": [
                        [
                            "2017-03-01T00:16:18Z",
                            33.1,
                            null,
                            null
                        ],
                        [
                            "2017-03-01T00:17:18Z",
                            12.4,
                            "12",
                            "14"
                        ]
                    ]
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Example 2: Query data with a SELECT statement and return second precision epoch timestamps

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb&epoch=s' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[[1488327378,33.1,null,null],[1488327438,12.4,"12","14"]]}]}]}

Example 3: Create a database using HTTP authentication

Valid credentials:

$ curl -XPOST 'http://localhost:8086/query?u=myusername&p=mypassword' --data-urlencode 'q=CREATE DATABASE "mydb"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0}]}

A successful CREATE DATABASE query returns no additional information.

Invalid credentials:

$ curl -XPOST 'http://localhost:8086/query?u=myusername&p=notmypassword' --data-urlencode 'q=CREATE DATABASE "mydb"'

{"error":"authorization failed"}

Example 4: Create a database using basic authentication

Valid credentials:

$ curl -XPOST -u myusername:mypassword 'http://localhost:8086/query' --data-urlencode 'q=CREATE DATABASE "mydb"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0}]}

A successful CREATE DATABASE query returns no additional information.

Invalid credentials:

$ curl -XPOST -u myusername:notmypassword 'http://localhost:8086/query' --data-urlencode 'q=CREATE DATABASE "mydb"'

{"error":"authorization failed"}

Request Body

--data-urlencode "q=<InfluxQL query>"

All queries must be URL encoded and follow InfluxQL syntax. Our example shows the --data-urlencode parameter from curl, which we use in all examples on this page.

Options

Request Multiple Queries

Delimit multiple queries with a semicolon ;.

Submit Queries from a File

The API supports submitting queries from a file using a multipart POST request. The queries in the file must be separated a semicolon (;).

Syntax:

curl -F "q=@<path_to_file>" -F "async=true" http://localhost:8086/query

Request Query Results in CSV format

Syntax:

curl -H "Accept: application/csv" -G 'http://localhost:8086/query [...]

Note that when the request includes -H "Accept: application/csv", the system returns timestamps in epoch format, not RFC3339 format.

Bind Parameters

The API supports binding parameters to particular field values or tag values in the WHERE clause. Use the syntax $<placeholder_key> as a placeholder in the query, and URL encode the map of placeholder keys to placeholder values in the request body:

Query syntax:

--data-urlencode 'q= SELECT [...] WHERE [ <field_key> | <tag_key> ] = $<placeholder_key>'

Map syntax:

--data-urlencode 'params={"<placeholder_key>":[ <placeholder_float_field_value> | <placeholder_integer_field_value> | "<placeholder_string_field_value>" | <placeholder_boolean_field_value> | "<placeholder_tag_value>" ]}'

Delimit multiple placeholder key-value pairs with comma ,.

Examples

Example 1: Send multiple queries

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb&epoch=s' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas";SELECT mean("myfield") FROM "mymeas"'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[[1488327378,33.1,null,null],[1488327438,12.4,"12","14"]]}]},{"statement_id":1,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","mean"],"values":[[0,22.75]]}]}]}

The request includes two queries: SELECT * FROM "mymeas" and SELECT mean("myfield") FROM "mymeas"'. In the results, the system assigns a statement identifier to each query return. The first query’s result has a statement_id of 0 and the second query’s result has a statement_id of 1.

Example 2: Request query results in CSV format

$ curl -H "Accept: application/csv" -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas"'

name,tags,time,myfield,mytag1,mytag2
mymeas,,1488327378000000000,33.1,mytag1,mytag2
mymeas,,1488327438000000000,12.4,12,14

The first point has no tag values for the mytag1 and mytag2 tag keys.

Example 3: Submit queries from a file

$ curl -F "q=@queries.txt" -F "async=true" 'http://localhost:8086/query'

A sample of the queries in queries.txt:

CREATE DATABASE mydb;
CREATE RETENTION POLICY four_weeks ON mydb DURATION 4w REPLICATION 1;

Example 4: Bind a parameter in the WHERE clause to specific tag value

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas" WHERE "mytag1" = $tag_value' --data-urlencode 'params={"tag_value":"12"}'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[["2017-03-01T00:17:18Z",12.4,"12","14"]]}]}]}

The request maps $tag_value to 12. InfluxDB stores tag values as strings they and must be double quoted in the request.

Example 5: Bind a parameter in the WHERE clause to a numerical field value

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas" WHERE "myfield" > $field_value' --data-urlencode 'params={"field_value":30}'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[["2017-03-01T00:16:18Z",33.1,null,null]]}]}]}

The request maps $field_value to 30. The value 30 does not require double quotes because myfield stores numerical field values.

Example 6: Bind two parameters in the WHERE clause to a specific tag value and numerical field value

$ curl -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas" WHERE "mytag1" = $tag_value AND  "myfield" < $field_value' --data-urlencode 'params={"tag_value":"12","field_value":30}'

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[["2017-03-01T00:17:18Z",12.4,"12","14"]]}]}]}

The request maps $tag_value to 12 and $field_value to 30.

Status codes and responses

Responses are returned in JSON. Include the query string parameter pretty=true to enable pretty-print JSON.

Summary Table

Examples

Example 1: A successful request that returns data

$ curl -i -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas"'

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: close
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:22:54 GMT
Transfer-Encoding: chunked

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"series":[{"name":"mymeas","columns":["time","myfield","mytag1","mytag2"],"values":[["2017-03-01T00:16:18Z",33.1,null,null],["2017-03-01T00:17:18Z",12.4,"12","14"]]}]}]}

Example 2: A successful request that returns an error

$ curl -i -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb1' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM "mymeas"'

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: close
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:23:48 GMT
Transfer-Encoding: chunked

{"results":[{"statement_id":0,"error":"database not found: mydb1"}]}

Example 3: An incorrectly formatted query

$ curl -i -G 'http://localhost:8086/query?db=mydb' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT *'

HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:24:25 GMT
Content-Length: 76

{"error":"error parsing query: found EOF, expected FROM at line 1, char 9"}

Example 4: Query data with invalid authentication credentials

$ curl -i  -XPOST 'http://localhost:8086/query?u=myusername&p=notmypassword' --data-urlencode 'q=CREATE DATABASE "mydb"'

HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
Www-Authenticate: Basic realm="InfluxDB"
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:11:26 GMT
Content-Length: 33

{"error":"authorization failed"}

/write

The /write endpoint accepts POST HTTP requests. Use this endpoint to write data to a pre-existing database.

Definition

POST http://localhost:8086/write

Query String Parameters

* The HTTP API also supports basic authentication. Use basic authentication if you’ve enabled authentication and aren’t using the query string parameters u and p. See below for an example of basic authentication.

** We recommend using the least precise precision possible as this can result in significant improvements in compression.

Examples

Example 1: Write a point to the database mydb with a timestamp in seconds

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb&precision=s" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=90 1463683075'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 17:33:23 GMT

Example 2: Write a point to the database mydb and the retention policy myrp

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb&rp=myrp" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=90'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 17:34:31 GMT

Example 3: Write a point to the database mydb using HTTP authentication

Valid credentials:

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb&u=myusername&p=mypassword" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=91'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 17:34:56 GMT

Invalid credentials:

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb&u=myusername&p=notmypassword" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=91'

HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
Www-Authenticate: Basic realm="InfluxDB"
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 17:40:30 GMT
Content-Length: 33

{"error":"authorization failed"}

Example 4: Write a point to the database mydb using basic authentication

Valid credentials:

$ curl -i -XPOST -u myusername:mypassword "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=91'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 17:36:40 GMT

Invalid credentials:

$ curl -i -XPOST -u myusername:notmypassword "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=91'

HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
Www-Authenticate: Basic realm="InfluxDB"
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 17:46:40 GMT
Content-Length: 33

{"error":"authorization failed"}

Request Body

--data-binary '<Data in Line Protocol format>'

All data must be binary encoded and in the Line Protocol format. Our example shows the --data-binary parameter from curl, which we will use in all examples on this page. Using any encoding method other than --data-binary will likely lead to issues; -d, --data-urlencode, and --data-ascii may strip out newlines or introduce new, unintended formatting.

Options:

• Write several points to the database with one request by separating each point by a new line.

• Write points from a file with the @ flag. The file should contain a batch of points in the Line Protocol format. Individual points must be on their own line and separated by newline characters (\n). Files containing carriage returns will cause parser errors.

  We recommend writing points in batches of 5,000 to 10,000 points. Smaller batches, and more HTTP requests, will result in sub-optimal performance.

Examples

Example 1: Write a point to the database mydb with a nanosecond timestamp

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=90 1463683075000000000'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:02:57 GMT

Example 2: Write a point to the database mydb with the local server’s nanosecond timestamp

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=90'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:03:44 GMT

Example 3: Write several points to the database mydb by separating points with a new line

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb" --data-binary 'mymeas,mytag=3 myfield=89
mymeas,mytag=2 myfield=34 1463689152000000000'

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:04:02 GMT

Example 4: Write several points to the database mydb from the file data.txt

$ curl -i -XPOST "http://localhost:8086/write?db=mydb" --data-binary @data.txt

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Type: application/json
Request-Id: [...]
X-Influxdb-Version: 1.2.x
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:08:11 GMT

A sample of the data in data.txt:

mymeas,mytag1=1 value=21 1463689680000000000
mymeas,mytag1=1 value=34 1463689690000000000
mymeas,mytag2=8 value=78 1463689700000000000
mymeas,mytag3=9 value=89 1463689710000000000

Status codes and responses

In general, status codes of the form 2xx indicate success, 4xx indicate that InfluxDB could not understand the request, and 5xx indicate that the system is overloaded or significantly impaired. Errors are returned in JSON.

Summary Table

Examples

Example 1: A successful write

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

Example 2: Write a point with an incorrect timestamp

HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
[...]
{"error":"unable to parse 'mymeas,mytag=1 myfield=91 abc123': bad timestamp"}

Example 3: Write an integer to a field that previously accepted a float

HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
[...]
{"error":"field type conflict: input field \"myfield\" on measurement \"mymeas\" is type int64, already exists as type float"}

Example 4: Write a point with invalid authentication credentials

HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
[...]
{"error":"authorization failed"}

Example 5: Write a point to a database that doesn’t exist

HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
[...]
{"error":"database not found: \"mydb1\""}

Example 6: Write a point to a retention policy that doesn’t exist

HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error
[...]
{"error":"retention policy not found: myrp"}